A couple who turned down a potential £6m to have a wind farm built on their land because of the effect it would have on the community and the landscape could still end up surrounded by turbines built on neighbouring farms. Frank and Clare Dakin say they moved to Northumberland for the "unspoilt and special" landscape, and have refused a number of lucrative offers from energy companies looking to erect turbines on their farm in Duddo, Northumberland. They say they also want to protect the integrity of two sites of extreme historic importance on their land - the ancient Duddo Five Stones and the Duddo Tower.

Yesterday the decision was quashed following a High Court challenge by local residents. They claimed the inspector had been wrong in his view that the turbine would not have a ‘significant adverse impact on recognised environmental assets' in the local area.

The secretary of state for energy and climate change Ed Miliband has responded to a set of challenging questions on energy and the landscape from the Campaign to Protect Rural England. Among questions he has answered, Miliband clarified his controversial statement that it should "be socially unacceptable to be against wind turbines in your area - like not wearing a seatbelt or driving past a zebra crossing."

An environmental watchdog has added its voice to the opposition to plans to build nine massive wind turbines on the edge of Exmoor.The Devon branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) said it would “forcefully object” to an application by npower renewables to build the 360ft tall turbines at Batsworthy Cross between South Molton and Tiverton. Bob Barfoot, chairman of the CPRE in North Devon, said the proposal went against the organisation’s national policy for onshore wind turbines.

Power chiefs behind the North-East's biggest wind farm have been accused of scaling down their plans in the face of public opposition ( but not by enough to allow the final decision to be made locally.

"We are not against genuinely small-scale, well-sited wind turbines, which do not harm the local amenity and supply energy to a farm or premises. "What we are against is the inappropriate siting of large turbines where they adversely affect landscape and blight the lives of people who live nearby."

THE comprehensive landscape reasons for planners recommending the IW Council turn down the controversial Wellow wind farm have been unveiled to the public, ahead of Monday’s planning decision on the scheme. Consultants acting for the IW Council concluded the six turbines, two of which are nearly 110 metres tall, would have significant adverse effects on the protected landscape, nearby homes and rights of way, and insufficient consideration had been given by applicant Your Energy to mitigating adverse effects on the countryside. Insufficient information was provided on the impact of the turbines on bats.

Planners have rejected a proposal to build a wind turbine farm on the edge of Dartmoor National Park....... Planners said there would have been an adverse visual impact to the area. WCE said it was disappointed at the move. But campaigners were celebrating. Ray Quirke, of Okehampton and Dartmoor Against Turbines (ODAT), said it was a “triumph of common sense”.

A CAMPAIGN to fight plans to build the region's most powerful wind farm at North Charlton has been boosted by a landmark decision in Cumbria.

Plans by Lewis Windpower for a wind farm at Barvas Moor in Lewis have been refused consent on the grounds of incompatibility with European law. Ministers have concluded that the proposed 181 turbine Lewis Wind Farm would have a serious impact on the Lewis Peatlands Special Protection Area, which is designated under the EC Birds Directive and protected under the EC Habitats Directive. ..."European legislation requires a specific procedure to be followed when proposals which could potentially affect Special Protection Areas come forward. I considered all the relevant issues and concluded it would not be possible to approve this application.

Anti-windfarm campaigners reacted jubilantly to the end of a plan to build 15 100-metre tall wind turbines on the ridge between Boxworth and Elsworth. Planning inspector Andrew Pykett, who held a three-week public inquiry into the proposal in October and November, has rejected an appeal by an energy company against refusal of planning consent for the development. Dr Pykett said the windfarm would dominate the character of an area “of quintessentially English lowland landscape in composition, scale and appearance” to the extent that much of its existing quality would be overwhelmed.

‘A victory for common sense and local democracy’ — that was the description of a planning inquiry decision that ruled against building three wind turbines within striking distance of Dartmoor. Opponents, who have fought the scheme to build the 81m turbines for the last 18 months, were in jubilant mood following the announcement last Thursday. Inspector Keith Smith dismissed an appeal by developers West Coast Energy following a public inquiry held in Okehampton in June. Ray Quirke, chairman of opposition group ODAT, said: ‘We are overjoyed and extremely relieved at the news. These turbines would have blighted our lives.

A woman who moved from a built-up area to an idyllic rural location is set to launch a petition against plans for a large wind farm which she says will ruin the "stunning" view from her new home.

DEVELOPERS may press on with plans for a controversial 12-turbine windfarm in North Wales even though a council rejected it this week, it emerged yesterday. Conwy councillors threw out the proposed Mwdwl Eithin scheme in Cerrigydrudion against the advice of officers, who recommended it for approval. ...Clwyd West AM Darren Millar welcomed Conwy councillors' refusal of the scheme which is in his constituency. Mr Millar, the Assembly shadow minister for the environment and planning, said: "This is great news for the countryside. The decision not to grant the application went against the recommendation of local authority planning officers, but represented the views of the majority of local residents.

The study identified a number of scenarios based on differing levels of potential, ranging from 70MW to 240MW. The preferred scenario identifies the consultant's preferred scale and pattern of development in the Harwood Forest/ Knowesgate area. This indicates that on the basis of landscape capacity, cumulative impact and the identification of three preferred development areas, the study area could accommodate around 100MW of wind energy development.

"Alex Salmond must have a death wish. Other countries throughout the world are abandoning wind turbine projects and not building previously approved structures because the economics just don't work. Without subsidies from England, Scotland would not be able to sustain his folly."

In a statement issued from his New York headquarters, Trump said: "All further plans for future development, including the hotel, are now on hold until the Scottish government makes a decision on the application for the European offshore wind deployment centre submitted by Vattenfall and Areg [Aberdeen renewable energy group].

In a ruling, issued today, the ASA upheld complaints by Scottish Renewables that the advert gave a misleading impression of the possible consequences of the Scottish Government's wind-turbines plan and the type of turbines likely to be used in Scotland, as well as exaggerating the Scottish government's estimate for offshore wind-farm developments.

Trump, who hopes to open his first course at the Menie estate, near Balmedie, has renewed his long-standing complaints about the project. He believes the smaller proposal is still unacceptable: some of the turbines could stand up to 195 metres in the water.

The American tycoon, whose organisation has already vowed to fight the proposed wind farm "on every possible front," has told the First Minister he wants the plans to be rejected or the "useless eyesore" to be relocated away from his luxury golf resort.